IDGOMB on Thursday
Improving your cycling is all about two things: strength and endurance. Improve your endurance by increasing your "ass time" or miles on your bike. Improve your strength by going hard but over shorter distances.
Improving your endurance means you'll be able to finish that 100 mile century ride, RAGBRAI or the 60 miles to / from Nashville
. Improving your strength means you'll be able to go faster and up and down those hills / mountains with less "suffering" as the big boys describe it. Anywho, it a good idea to change your cycling routine day regularly. Long rides are best left for the weekend or when you have some time to kill. Shorter, more intense rides are perfect during the week.
NEXT
Did an unheard of 6 hours of Bikram yoga. Yes, I was in that 105 degree room exercising for nearly 6 hours. Dehydration was not a problem, because I drank a lot of sports drink. Instead, muscle exhaustion and labored breathing (took a conscious effort to breathe the last 45 minutes) made the exercise rather torturous. The second 90 minute session was the best and most relaxing I've had so far.
Flexibility, particularly back flexibility has improved greatly as has endurance. There's nothing better for strength though than weights.
Hopped on the bike and rode!! First time I did it since my heart attack (except for around the block a few time). I have been walking about an 1 1/2 hours a day (3 thirty minute walks). The doc OKed me for alittle harder exercise. I just went to the local coffee shop (about 1+ miles) then back after lunch. I won't be doing it that much till about October. Here in the Central Valley of California we now have almond harvest. The dust and dirt gets real bad in August & September. When you combine that with 100+ temp. it can be hard on the lungs and heart. Both times I have had my heart attacks were on very hot polluted days. I will try and watch that from here on in. Brian
If I were you, I'd get one of those wris****ches that monitors your pulse rate and keep it on all the time .. if it gets too out of range in speed, then it will beep and you know to slow down or stop ... (I wonder if they have one too that would sound a beep if your beat gets erratic?
) btw, what does IDGOMB mean?
(that sounds like the noise I sometimes make when I fart - err, the real ones! 
) Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
Hopped on the bike and rode!! First time I did it since my heart attack (except for around the block a few time). I have been walking about an 1 1/2 hours a day (3 thirty minute walks). The doc OKed me for alittle harder exercise. I just went to the local coffee shop (about 1+ miles) then back after lunch. I won't be doing it that much till about October. Here in the Central Valley of California we now have almond harvest. The dust and dirt gets real bad in August & September. When you combine that with 100+ temp. it can be hard on the lungs and heart. Both times I have had my heart attacks were on very hot polluted days. I will try and watch that from here on in. Brian
Brian,
This university article looks at mostly the "anti" side of the hot yoga argument. There's a lot of information about mid-way about exercising in the heat and has some info about heart disease and old age (not sure how old you are, but just in case):
http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/BikramYoga.htm
Best Wishes,
Dave
